Including Teens: Planning for Their School Year

If you know me, then you understand how much I love researching, planning, and organizing – especially in regards to school. For me, it is more than just a requirement for preparing for another homeschool year. I actually find it enjoyable!

As our children have grown, I’ve begun to include them in some of the curriculum selection process. No, they don’t seem to enjoy it as much as I do. However, especially as they enter the teenage years, I think it is important for them to be able to have a say in what they will be learning as well as in how they will be learning.

What does this look like?

Starting in middle school, I’ll give them a few options for subjects like history and science as well as seek to somehow include something they are really interested in learning more about.

For our 6th grade son this year, that involves lots of science – including learning about inventions, reading biographies of famous scientists, and making a science timeline for his history. It also means making sure he has time during his school day to continue learning how to code with Khan academy. He is beyond excited for these changes and additions this coming year!

Our 8th grade daughter loves music. After looking at curricula, we encouraged her to use her history time this coming school year to study classical composers through biographies and learn about the orchestra and each type of musical instrument. She also has space in her day to continue practicing her cello and piano, as well as music appreciation. This is a perfect fit for her this coming year and she is very much looking forward to these aspects in her daily school routine.

For high school students, it is even more important for them to have a part in the decision making process for each of their subjects. I explain the graduation requirements, suggest several options, show them online samples, and encourage them to read descriptions in the numerous homeschool catalogs that grace our mailbox. Then, we allow them to attend a homeschool conference with us and to share in the vendor hall experience. We then talk about the possible positives and negatives of each curricula that they or I are interested in. In the end, my husband and I are the ones with the final say, but our teens and preteens know that they have had a part in the decision.

It is so encouraging to see the different personalities, passions, and interests that God is developing in each of our children. By allowing our teens and preteens to participate in making decisions about THEIR education, we can more easily purchase and plan for curriculum that is tailored to their interests. This, in turn, causes them to approach their schoolwork with a greater sense of ownership, determination, and satisfaction.